


Leaving Nothing Behind

by lentranced



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken | Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Fire Emblem: Shin Monshou no Nazo | Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Genre: Budding Love, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Hot Chocolate, Modern AU, Modern Era, Pre-Relationship, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-23 02:27:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20884643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lentranced/pseuds/lentranced
Summary: Phina ropes Michalis into volunteering to rake leaves in the campus yard. He notices an odd lump in her bag. She notices an odd charm in his mannerisms.





	1. we volunteered.

The cold air was beginning to give Michalis a mild headache. He grimaced and pulled his hat down over his ears. How he longed for a blanket to bury himself under on this fall afternoon.

There simply was no saying no to Phina.

He stood by the edge of the campus property, soft dirt and old leaves under his boots, one elbow digging into the thin black metal of the fence behind him. From here, the yawning afternoon sun, with its stew of orange and yellow light streaking the skies, looked almost poetic.

Still, Michalis's bones ached. His arms were sore. Raking leaves was harder than it looked.

Phina, however, seemed to trample through the mess like they were suds. She was wearing a long brown overcoat and big boots that were splattered with mud around the soles.

Raking leaves was not supposed to be fun, was it? Michalis tugged on a lock of his hair as he kept frowning at her, and eventually, she took notice (for the third time that day).

"Are you done taking a break?" she asked, walking over towards him with a rake in each hand. "We weren't hired to stand around, you know."

"We _volunteered_," Michalis emphasized. "Specifically, _you_ did."

Phina ignored him. "The faster we finish up here, the more time we'll have to enjoy the afternoon."

"Can't we just call it a day already?"

She crossed her arms, the rakes sticking out either side of her. A force to be reckoned with.

"We're not _done_, and we can't call it a day until we're _done_."

"Well, I'll wait for you to finish up."

Phina threw a rake to the ground. Michalis flinched. She glared at him.

"Have fun watching me do all the hard work myself, then!" she said before stomping off to the centre of the yard again.

Sighing, Michalis picked up the rake she had left on the floor. He watched as she angrily pushed the dry leaves around the yard, putting more energy into furrowing her brow and being visibly angry with him, than in actually raking leaves.

"I'll do this corner," he said, pointing to the side of the campus yard where the bike rack stood, "since you're almost done over here. And then we'll be done."

Phina scoffed, but he could tell that she wasn't really angry, at least not anymore. Michalis hid his face behind the collar of his coat and smiled, but only for a moment. He then went to tend to the leaves.

Thirty minutes and one massive pile of leaves later, Michalis stood in front of the fence, catching his breath, leaning forward against his rake for support. The air seemed so cold and prickly against the insides of his lungs.

Phina was sitting on a bench not too far away, looking up at the bare trees. Michalis approached her, offering his white knuckled hand.

"It's only going to get colder," he said.

She nodded, taking his hand to lift herself up. With a sharp exhale, she started towards the street. Michalis followed behind, closely, silently.

Eventually, their paces matched up, and they walked side by side, shoulders and elbows bumping as clouds began to clot the autumn sky.


	2. thank you, chef

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> About that lump in Phina's bag...

"Now we can rest," Phina said once they had arrived at his apartment. It was only once they had entered the elevator that Michalis noted her lumpy and very heavy looking backpack.

"Do you need help with that, Phina?" he asked.

"Oh, no I'm fine," she said.

He circled around her, examining her bag. She bristled.

"What's _in_ there?" he asked.

"It's a surprise," she said.

He narrowed his eyes at her. She just grinned back at him. He couldn't keep staring at her, not when she smiled at him like that.

Conveniently enough, the elevator doors slid open. Michalis hurried out, hands shoved deep into his pockets and head down. The fold of his hair that stuck out from under his hat and went into the back of his coat flapped with each brisk step. His boots thumped against the thick carpet. Phina trailed behind him, footsteps light as a feather.

"You're like a little chicken, you know that?" Michalis said, getting his keys out.

She straightened at that. "I don't go around pecking at people like you do."

Michalis pressed his lips together. Phina folded her arms inwards and did a rather awful chicken impression. He turned and unlocked the door, giving it a slight kick before flicking the lights and walking in, kicking his boots off.

Phina followed, closing the door and locking it. Promptly, she hung her coat up, leaving her boots in the corner by the door. The mud around the edges of her shoes had dried, forming a thin, cakey film around the heels and toes.

"Are you gonna make us something to eat?" she asked, rocking back and forth at the edge of his living room in her kitty cat tights.

Michalis put his hat and jacket away. He made his way to the kitchen, dragging his feet. Phina scrambled ahead, pulling open his drawers like a madwoman.

"What... are you looking for?" Michalis asked.

"Tablecloth," was all that Phina said, and the moment she found one, she yanked it out and ran back to the living room.

Michalis was curious, but he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing that, so instead he busied himself with two mugs and the canister of cocoa. His thoughts drifted to the fridge, relieved that for once, Phina hadn't started her visit with raiding it.

There was something special in there for today. He didn't know what had overcome him when he had done it, sleeves rolled up, his hair and face covered in flour, at two in the morning.

He had simply _wanted_ to do it. There was no debating the desire to make what he had.

He opened the fridge, quietly, and with the door to the kitchen closed so that Phina would not peer in, and pulled out the cool, covered dish on the top rack. Setting it down on the countertop, Michalis rubbed his hands together.

For a moment, all he did was admire it. It was his first pie, and a pumpkin pie, at that. He had worked painstakingly on the crust.

Yes, this was something that Michalis could allow himself to be proud of.

As the milk started to warm in the saucepan, he preheated the oven, drumming his fingers impatiently against the counter, eyes on the clock. The smell of pumpkin filled the air already, oddly enough.

Once he had put the pie in the oven, he brought the mugs of cocoa out into the living room.

It was then that Michalis was truly grateful of how few things surprised him, otherwise he may have dropped the mugs.

Phina had put the tablecloth on the floor and was sitting on it, cross-legged, with a carving knife in her orange, pumpkin pulp covered hands.

Ah. And of course there was the pumpkin in front of her. Poor thing.

"So, that was the lump in your bag," Michalis said.

Phina shot him an impish grin. She turned the pumpkin so her handiwork faced him. "Do you like it?"

The face on the pumpkin was lopsided, angry in a silly looking way.

"I'll get you a candle," Michalis said, leaving her request for a compliment hanging.

He left the cocoa by the sofa and returned with a large candle and a box of matches.

With reserved curiosity, he sat back on the sofa and watched as Phina put the candle inside the pumpkin. She set it down on the coffee table, in front of Michalis, and drew his curtains shut to block out the late afternoon light.

"Now we're cozy," Phina said, lighting the candle.

The face in the pumpkin lit up, the flame's glow dancing inside it. Michalis went back to the kitchen and returned with the pie this time. Phina's eyes lit up, and perhaps it was the way the jack o'lantern glow reflected in her eyes, but the excitement in her expression seemed to dance like a restless forest spirit

"Your surprise ruined mine," Michalis said. On the table, he set down a two plates, with a slice for each of them.

Phina leaned forward, nearly hanging off the sofa. "Did you make this?"

Michalis took a seat beside her. He let himself get comfortable, even though it felt like, for some reason, he had ice cubes coursing through his veins. The sofa shifted slightly under him as Phina's weight on it shifted. It was enough to keep him on edge.

She really was so strange.

"You sure some tree spirit or something didn't possess you while we were out?" he asked her.

She looked at him, perplexed. "Why?"

Phina picked up her mug of cocoa, balancing a plate of pie on her lap. Michalis watched the plate, sitting atop her kitty tights. It looked so precarious, like it could tip over any moment.

But he knew, somehow, that it wouldn't. He let his sore body sink deeper into the cushions.

"Never mind," he muttered, bringing the mug to his lips. The steam was comforting. "You're just always like this."

Phina simply raised her mug in response. She took a big sip and let out a massive sigh of contentment.

"I should try making my own hot cocoa sometime," she said.

Michalis held back a snicker. "I'm not giving you the recipe. You'd find some way to ruin it."

Phina furrowed her brow. "You don't _always_ have to be mean, you know," she said, taking another big gulp. She swallowed. "Well, does this mean you'll make it for me whenever I want?"

Michalis thought about her proposition for a moment before answering. "Sure."

"Free daily cocoa," she said, grinning against her cup.

She took another swig. Michalis slowly sipped at his. He was too nervous to try the pie before her.

"Is there a catch?" Michalis asked finally.

She looked at him. "Besides me?"

He nearly spit out his drink. She laughed, put her empty mug down and picked the plate of pie up off her lap, breaking a piece off with a fork.

"This looks really good, too. I can't believe how lucky I've gotten. Free food is one thing, but free _good_ food? Well, I guess free food is already good by virtue of it being free, but..."

"Thank you, chef," Michalis said, eyes closed.

"Ah," Phina said. She took a bite and then pressed her palms against each other, in a prayer motion, bowing her head to him. "Thank you, chef."

"You're welcome," Michalis said. Inside, his nerves were killing him. How could she eat so slowly? She _had_ to have known that he was dying to hear her thoughts on the pie. "Is it good?"

She beamed, best as she could with a mouthful of pie. "Excellent work, chef."

"You can stop with that now."

Phina giggled. She leaned into the warmth of his old but not quite worn out sofa cushions. Strands of pink hair fell over her face.

"You're alright," she said.

Michalis didn't know how to take that, but he didn't want to ask her to elaborate, either.

She was looking up at him. Every muscle in his face, his neck, his arms and chest, tensed. His legs became stiff.

He stared back, lips creased into a deep frown.

She blinked, and then she was back to the pie.

"What I mean is that you're good," she said, smiling against the prongs of her fork.

At that, Michalis's body relaxed, and he let his weight sink into the cushions as well. Phina rested her head against his arm, chewing thoughtfully.

"You're eating slowly," Michalis said. "For once."

"I want to savour it," Phina said. "But don't think this means I'm not going to ask for more."

She threatened him with the fork, holding it close to his neck as though it was a knife. Michalis's cheeks puffed and he threw his head back. It was then that laughter erupted from him, filling the living room.

Phina was watching him, yes. He knew that, and he didn't mind. The air smelled like pumpkin and chocolate and rain.

"It's all yours," he said, sleeve pressed to his smile.

She yanked on his arm. He let it fall into his lap but looked unamused.

"Don't hide that," she said, pulling at her own cheeks.

He forced a smile, but it wasn't the same. He could see that in her eyes.

"Natural and unrecorded phenomena," Phina muttered. "Your smile is one of them. Can I really have the whole pie?"

"No," Michalis said. "There's a catch."

"Me?" Phina batted her eyelashes.

Michalis was quiet. He looked at the jack o'lantern, with its lopsided, impish grin that was so reminiscent of Phina.

"Yes," he said.

The world was quiet. Phina didn't reply.

She picked up her fork, pushing the last bit of her slice off and into her mouth. She leaned against his arm again and closed her eyes, chewing slow and swallowing fast.

The first drops of rain hit Michalis's window. He felt his limbs grow heavy, the soreness finally settling in. There was a sip of cocoa left in his cup, perched at the edge of the coffee table. Phina's eyes were closed, her nose buried into his sleeve.

He didn't reach for it and remained perfectly still, letting his eyelids slip shut, face to the ceiling, red hair falling over his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again thank u bell!
> 
> prompt was cocoa!

**Author's Note:**

> part of FE rarepair week (i know i'm late pwease don't bully me) the prompt for ch1 is "leaves" and for ch2 it's "cocoa!"
> 
> thank u bell for reading this over!
> 
> @ everyone else come join my supreme rarepair hell :3


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